We saw that the plane was surrounded by police and special forces. The special forces went into the plane. It became total panic, says one of the passengers on board to Belgian RTL.
Then we said to ourselves that it's going to explode, it was so much that went through our heads.
"On Tuesday morning, just before 11 am, a bomb threat was reported on board a flight", says a spokesperson for Charleroi airport outside Brussels.
Initially, it was reported that the plane was coming from the city of Porto, but it is now reported that the plane had taken off from Faro.
Just under two hours after the alarm was triggered, the evacuation of passengers began. A security cordon of 500 meters was set up around the affected plane from the airline Ryanair, which is now to be inspected.
Air traffic at the airport was stopped due to the incident but could be resumed again a few hours later.
Charleroi, south of Brussels, is a key European hub for the low-cost airline Ryanair.
Corrected: In an earlier version of the text, there was an incorrect statement about the plane's route.
